This book tells the story of Malaysia’s formation and its
early struggle for survival. A treasure trove of recently de-classified records
from the UK National Archives and the US Consulate in Kuching, demonstrate how
the British, Singapore and Malayan governments seized upon the Brunei revolt,
and Indonesian attacks across the Sarawak border, to justify their extensive
use of coercive measures against the strongest opponents of the federation
proposal, and to reinforce strong messaging that forming Malaysia was the best
available future for Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore too.

Despite all of those efforts, new archival evidence shows
how the political situation in Sarawak almost caused Malaysia to be aborted at
the last minute. The book then goes on to document how strong international and
internal pressures throughout 1964 and 1965 meant that the very survival of
Malaysia was in doubt.

Michael Leigh arrived to commence his research in Sarawak in
December 1962, at a turbulent time just after the Brunei revolt had been
suppressed and shortly before the start of armed Indonesian confrontation. He
has maintained an active interest as an analyst of the processes of political
and economic change, and has authored some 60 books, chapters and articles on
Sarawak and greater Malaysia, in particular The Rising Moon: Political Change
in Sarawak (1974), Council Negri Sarawak: Malaysia’s Oldest Legislature (1992)
and Mapping the Peoples of Sarawak (2002).

He has held the position of Professor at the Universities of
Sydney, Melbourne and UNIMAS, where he established the Institute of East Asian
Studies.